'Need to Establish Negotiation Channels First'... Budget Time Gained for Next Year but Challenges Remain 'Cheopcheopsanjung'

Budget Bill Deadline Extended to the 10th
Opposing Parties Hold Polarized Positions
Dialogue Channel for Budget Bill Must Be Established First

Following Speaker Woo Won-sik's decision to postpone the plenary session's consideration of next year's budget bill to the 10th, the unprecedented 'reduced budget bill' led by the Democratic Party of Korea was not processed in the plenary session on the 2nd. Although there is a declaration to process it within the regular session of the National Assembly, the differences in positions between the ruling party, opposition parties, and the government are as stark as black and white, and since discussions must begin with establishing communication channels, it is difficult to expect the budget bill to be processed within the regular session.

At a press briefing held on the 2nd, Speaker Woo said, "The budget bill approved by the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts has been submitted to the plenary session," adding, "However, after careful consideration, I decided not to submit the budget bill to the plenary session today. As a result, I deeply apologize to the public for not meeting the legal deadline." He explained, "The reason I postponed the plenary session's consideration of the budget bill despite risking non-compliance with the legal deadline is that, at present, I judge that processing the budget bill would hardly give hope to the people," and emphasized, "The budget bill must be processed by the 10th of this month, when the regular session ends."

Earlier, the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, cut 4.1 trillion won in total, including 2.4 trillion won in contingency funds, special activity expenses of the Presidential Secretariat and the National Security Office, prosecution-specific operational expenses, police special activity expenses, Board of Audit and Inspection special expenses, and special activity expenses. Since the government, which holds the right to consent to increases, did not agree, the increased budget amount is zero. According to the Constitution and related laws, the National Assembly can reduce the budget proposed by the government but cannot increase it without government consent. The opposition parties reviewed next year's budget with the ruling party but, due to differences in views on reductions and increases, forcibly passed a budget bill containing only the reductions that the National Assembly could make before the legal deadline.

Regarding future budget negotiations, Speaker Woo said, "The majority party, as the ruling party, must fulfill the responsibilities and duties befitting its position as a courtesy to the people," and added, "We cannot help but ask how much the government respects and faithfully supports the National Assembly's budget review rights. The government needs self-reflection and a change in attitude."

Gu Ja-geun, the ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Budget Committee, is making a procedural speech at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

However, although the budget bill was not forcibly passed solely by the opposition in the plenary session on the 2nd, the budget process remains uncertain. Currently, there is no change in position among the ruling party, opposition parties, and government regarding the opposition's reduced budget bill. The government and ruling party insist that the reduced budget bill must be withdrawn, while the opposition only repeats that "there is nothing wrong" and "special activity expenses cannot be compromised."

Before the plenary session, Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, reiterated to Speaker Woo in a meeting that the opposition must withdraw the reduced budget bill. Deputy Prime Minister Choi stated, "The reduced budget bill passed by the Budget and Accounts Committee increases government uncertainty and could greatly exacerbate adverse effects on the people's livelihood economy," and urged, "The opposition should withdraw the budget bill and engage in sincere dialogue."

Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party and the ruling party's chief whip, declared at a party meeting, "If the Democratic Party does not apologize for and withdraw the violent unilateral forced passage, there will be no further negotiations."

On the other hand, the opposition clearly states that it has no intention of backing down regarding special activity expenses and related issues. Yoon Jong-gun, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said at a pre-plenary party meeting, "We have no intention of conceding on special activity expenses." When reporters asked whether concessions would be possible if the Democratic Party brought forth a livelihood budget, he replied with "No comment." Particularly, even the Democratic Party members of the Budget and Accounts Committee who forcibly passed the budget argue that, except for special activity expenses of investigative agencies and contingency funds, most of the reduced budget is a bipartisan agreement at the standing committee level. They also counter concerns about damage to the livelihood economy by stating, "The scale of the reduced budget (4.1 trillion won) is only about 0.6% of the government's total expenditure," and "Most of the reductions are in unspecified contingency funds (2.44 trillion won) and government bond interest payments (500 billion won) due to expected interest rate cuts, which have no relation to harm to the public or businesses."

Due to the significant differences between the ruling and opposition parties, even securing communication channels is difficult. Typically, after the legal deadline passes, a communication channel is formed involving the floor leaders of both parties and the Budget and Accounts Committee's party secretaries to negotiate, but since conflicts have already escalated, negotiations must begin immediately with the communication channel in place.

Speaker Woo expressed concern during the plenary session when the party secretaries of the Budget and Accounts Committee from both sides engaged in a procedural debate, saying, "Since the 22nd National Assembly convened, there has never been such a failure in negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties and among negotiation groups."

Lee Sang-min, senior research fellow at the National Fiscal Research Institute, predicted, "Ultimately, the budget bill will reach a dramatic agreement," but added, "In the process, both sides will employ brinkmanship tactics." He pointed out, "The current government has undermined trust in the budget due to unused funds, but the opposition's attitude that additional supplementary budgets can be prepared if the budget is insufficient risks turning the budget into an empty promise."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.